1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telecommunications, and more particularly, to a system and method for providing a call waiting priority alert service to telephone line subscribers.
2. Background of the Invention
Using the telephone to communicate has become an important aspect of our lives. As a result, almost every family in an industrialized nation has a telephone line. On a daily basis, a typical family may receive a large number of telephone calls. The number of incoming calls could be even larger if the family has become a target customer of a telemarketing campaign. A telephone user may find it annoying to have answered a call not intended for him or her, especially when the call is from an unknown person such as a telemarketing representative.
The annoyance of answering calls from unknown calling parties could be aggravated in a call waiting situation. For example, a telephone service subscriber could be extremely annoyed when he must temporarily put a first call on hold to answer a second call, only to find out the second call is from a telemarketing company or other unknown caller.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method that would alert a subscriber (who is already engaged in a first communication session with a third party) of an incoming call from a calling party, but only if the calling party is one from whom the subscriber would not mind entertaining. A call from an unknown or undesirable calling party would not invoke the call waiting feature of the subscriber's telephone line. Alternatively, a call from the unknown calling party would be associated with a regular call waiting tone, but a call from the priority caller would be associated with a priority alert signal.